By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Looking to compete in the 2024 Olympic Games, Frank Ntilikina is currently practicing under longtime Nanterre 92 head coach Pascal Donnadieu, the top assistant coach to Vincent Collet at the senior national team of France.
Ntilikina, 25, revealed his plan in an interview with SKWEEK on Saturday. “Everything is going in the right direction. We are all very confident about my form, two months before the start of the training camp,” he referred to possibly joining Les Bleus and representing his country in this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris.
The French guard was waived by the Charlotte Hornets on February 8. Limited to five games played in the 2023-24 NBA Regular Season due to various injuries, he had 1.0 points, 1.2 rebounds, and 0.8 assists in 8.6 minutes per contest. Recovering over recent months of inactivity created a healthy status late in the 2023-24 winter schedule.
“After the Olympics,” Ntilikina replied to a question about deciding on his future at the club level. He confirmed potentially moving his talents to the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague as an option to resume his career in the 2024-25 season.
Coming out of SIG Strasbourg and 14 appearances in the inaugural 2016-17 installment of the Basketball Champions League, he was selected with the eighth overall pick of the 2017 NBA draft. Over the next seven years, he made his way to 336 appearances between stints with the New York Knicks and Dallas Mavericks, besides a cup of tea with the Hornets.